Ever since Hell House LLC premiered, fans have waited with baited breath to see what the next film had in-store for the Horror series. Fortunately, all questions were answered on September 20, 2018, when the sequel, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel, arrived to Shudder. For its first 90 days, this sequel is only available via Shudder in the U.S., Canada, UK and Ireland. Fear not, however: as part of this epic release, Shudder is offering fans a 14-day free trial with promo code HH2TFSH – head to www.shudder.com. If you can control yourself and wait, Terror Films will make the film available as of Friday, January 4, 2019, on VOD and Digital HD platforms.
With Stephen Cognetti (Caravia Nights short 2009, Hell House LLC 2015) reprising his role as director, the film takes place eight years after the initial incident of tragedy that befell Hell House, with many questions that still remain unanswered. Thanks to an anonymous tip, Investigative Journalist Jessica Fox (Jillian Geurts: The Perfect Murder series, Abnormal Attraction 2018) develops a team composed of friends and Micheal Cavanaugh (Vasile Flutur: The Kidnapping of a Fish short 2016, Hercules short 2018), the last known survivor of the Hell House tragedy, in hopes of discovering some answers.
In this sequel, we get more information about the past as well as the present of Abaddon Hotel in the past, all leading up to the recent tragedy. This starts to put us in the same disturbing situation as its predecessor, which did a wonderful job of conveying terror. While we get the hair-raising and tense environment that the original film articulated so well, the first half of this sequel comes off as a bit of a dud.
Though, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel has a number of moments where the tension is plausible, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, unfortunately and ultimately, the build-up is wasted on a rushed, messy ending. Sadly, a similar issue befell the original film. Whether this was due to a lack of time or budget issues is in itself a mystery, but normally one learns from such experiences.
So, while the first and last bits of the film are less than desirable, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel has plenty of moments from the mid-point onward that really do its job of creating truly eerie circumstances that will leave the viewer uneasy in its wake. This is due to Cognetti’s gifted ability of being able to produce a sinister and frightening vibe in a simple and uncomplicated way. These scenes do not carry a lot of processed weight on them, as they are not overdone or overproduced.
The acting comes across as one of the weakest links in Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel, but is something that gradually fixes itself as the film’s tension progresses. While most of these actors are on an amateur level, this does not hurt the film too much where it counts.
Overall, it is easy to see that Cognetti is a great director, as he has the talent to truly create some really scary atmospheres so simply and effortlessly. While it seems like more of the same formula from the first film, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel still manages to pull off a fairly decent film that carries with it some truly intense and uncomfortable sequences throughout. With a better budget, maybe alongside better acting direction, the next installment of the Hell House series is bound to be a good one. Until then, CrypticRock gives Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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